Chapter 19. A Smorgasbord of Scripts

The scripts in this section are varied. Many are responses to questions in Usenet newsgroups, and may solve a very narrow problem. Some are valid for some operating systems but not others. Some scripts use commands that are not always installed (though they are generally available for Unix systems).

It is often easier to write a script for a specific situation than to write a general solution that can be used in many places. While the latter is more efficient, and should be attempted whenever feasible, one shouldn't rule out the one-time script. Peter Seebach says it well:

A good rule of thumb is to start thinking about the design of a utility the second time you have to solve a problem. Don't mourn the one-off ...

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